8. Cass
Cass
Another night, another back-breaking night at the greenhouse. I was only a couple days in and already my body was so sore I could barely walk. My back was tight, my legs were shaky, and even my butt felt like it was just gonna fall right the fuck off.
My hands though, were great.
In fact, I don’t think they’d ever been that soft before.
By the time I’d woken up in the morning, the blisters were gone along with the green stain left behind by the paste Linden had mixed up.
Instead they were coated in fresh new skin without sign of blemish or injury.
And somehow, through some mysterious power I could only guess at, Linden’s concoction managed to wipe away a small scar that had been on my palm my entire life.
I had no idea something as simple as plants could have so much power. Then again, Linden was a dryad, so maybe he was the one making it work so well.
But as I headed back to the greenhouse, I resolved not to bring it up.
I wasn’t there to make friends or learn about plants.
In all honesty, I wanted the semester to be over as fast as possible.
And there was the fact that my magic seemed to go a little wonky when Linden got too close.
If him touching my hand could make it snow, what would happen if he hugged me?
Pulled me against him? What if he towered over me, wrapped me up in his arms, and kissed me?
“Stop,” I muttered to myself as I trudged through the snow. “I don’t want to think about that.”
But the truth was, ever since last night, it was all I could think about.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Linden.
Even this morning when I did my shift at the greenhouse, I couldn’t stop glancing his way.
I found myself cataloguing the way his body moved, how his giant biceps flexed when he picked things up, and the seemingly ever-present bulge in his jeans that drew my gaze whether I liked it or not.
Truth was, the dude was fucking hot. But I kept trying to tell myself that he wasn’t my type. I didn’t want a ball of sunshine and positivity. That shit was annoying. And the plant thing? Forget it. Besides, he was a dryad and from what I’d been told, our kinds didn’t usually mix.
So why couldn’t I stop fantasizing about him?
The conservatory loomed up in front of me before I realized my feet had carried me all the way there.
Taking one last deep breath of frigid January air, I stepped into the greenhouse.
The moment I passed through my magical barrier, I was struck by a warm gush of air and the sudden humidity.
In just a couple of days, the greenhouse had returned to its usual temperature and the scent of damp earth had returned.
It could almost be described as nice, if I was into that sort of thing.
But the moment I was inside, I realized I wasn’t alone like I expected.
Linden was there, of course, but he was talking to two guys I’d never seen before.
One was lithe and pale with freckles and flaming red hair.
The other was more muscular with blonde hair and he had his arm around the waist of the red-head.
“So what do you want me to clean up tonight?” I asked, announcing my presence when they didn’t look up.
Linden turned toward me, and I watched as his expression shifted from whatever conversation he’d been having into something more carefully neutral. The red-haired guy, though, grinned like he’d just won the lottery.
“Cass!” the red-head exclaimed, practically bouncing on his heels. “Perfect timing. I’m Nerion, by the way. This is Teddy. We’re just here to set up some painting equipment.”
“Painting equipment,” I repeated, not bothering to hide my skepticism. “In the greenhouse?”
“For Nerion’s inspiration,” Teddy added, his tone suggesting he was used to explaining his boyfriend’s more eccentric ideas. Or at least I assumed the guy was his boyfriend.
Teddy had this calm, patient thing going on that made me immediately trust him more than I trusted the other one, who was already bouncing toward the western section of the greenhouse with an easel tucked under one arm.
“Nerion’s my best friend,” Linden said quietly, and I could hear the apology in his voice. That didn’t bode well. “He wanted to use the ruins of the greenhouse as inspiration for his work.”
“So he’s just gonna be hanging around here now?” I asked, not hiding my irritation. Although, if I was being honest, I was too tired to care if the entire campus showed up to watch me suffer.
“Pretty much,” Nerion called back over his shoulder. He was already setting up his easel, positioning it at an angle that gave him a perfect view of both me and Linden. “Don’t mind me. Just pretend I’m not here.”
That was going to be impossible. I could already feel his eyes on me, assessing, cataloguing. It was the kind of attention that made my skin prickle. I felt like livestock at an auction.
“So, Cass,” Nerion continued, clearly not allowing anyone to ignore him. “Weather magic, huh? Pretty impressive that you leveled this place all by yourself.” He gave me a once over. “You single?”
I blinked at him, not entirely sure I’d heard that right. “Am I what?”
“Single,” Nerion repeated, his grin widening as he dipped a brush in paint. “You know, unattached? Available? Ready to mingle?”
“That’s none of your fucking business,” I said flatly, already moving toward the debris pile we’d been working on that morning. I could feel Linden’s eyes on me, and could practically sense his embarrassment radiating off him in waves.
“It kind of is though,” Nerion continued, completely undeterred by my hostility. “Because I’m thinking about setting you up with someone.”
“I don’t need—”
“Nerion,” Teddy said quietly, placing a hand on the red-head’s shoulder. There was a warning in his tone that even I could pick up on. “Maybe give him more than a minute before you start grilling him?”
Nerion pouted but turned his attention back to his canvas, though I could tell he was still listening to every word.
Guys like that always were. They thrived on drama and gossip and inserting themselves into other people’s business.
I felt like I knew him already and I’d only been in his presence for thirty-five seconds.
I grabbed a shovel from where we’d left them that morning and moved deeper into the greenhouse, toward the eastern section where we’d been making progress.
The work was mindless enough that I could do it without thinking too hard, which was good because my brain was already overloaded with the presence of these new people.
Especially Linden.
He’d been quieter this evening, more reserved than usual. I wondered if he’d told his friends about last night. About the snow. About the way he’d held my hands and healed them, instead of being grossed out by how torn up they were or letting me suffer like he probably thought I deserved.
“I’ll help you with that,” Linden said, appearing beside me with his own shovel. His tone was careful, like he was walking on eggshells.
“You don’t have to,” I replied, not looking at him. “I can handle it.”
“I know you can,” he said simply. “But we work faster together.”
That was true enough. We’d developed a rhythm over the past couple of days, a way of working that was almost... comfortable. He’d point out where to dig, I’d clear the debris, and then he’d assess what we’d uncovered with those golden eyes that seemed to see things I couldn’t.
We fell into that rhythm now, the sound of our shovels striking earth and stone creating a steady percussion beneath Nerion’s occasional commentary and the scratch of his brush against canvas.
My muscles protested with every movement, but I pushed through it.
I wasn’t going to let Linden see me struggle.
Wasn’t going to give him another reason to worry about me or try to help me or—
“Your hands look better,” Linden observed, not looking away from the section he was working on. “I’m glad they healed well.”
“Yeah. They’re fine now,” I muttered. “Thanks, I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice even though I wasn’t looking at him.
We worked in silence for a while after that, and I found myself falling back into that comfortable rhythm.
Shovel, clear, assess. Shovel, clear, assess.
It was almost meditative in its repetition, and for the first time since this whole nightmare started, I felt something that wasn’t pure frustration or exhaustion.
“So, uh,” Linden said after maybe five minutes of quiet work, “Nerion’s kind of a lot, huh?”
I couldn’t help but let out a short laugh at that. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“He means well,” Linden continued, and I could tell he was trying to smooth things over. “He’s just... enthusiastic about people.”
“He’s nosy,” I corrected, but there was less bite to it than there could have been. “And he was definitely trying to set me up with someone. Which is weird because I don’t even know the guy.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Nerion,” Linden admitted. “He’s been on this whole mission to get me to—” He stopped abruptly, and I finally glanced over at him. Even in the dim light of the greenhouse, I could see the faint red tint to his cheeks that suggested he was blushing. “To get me to date.”
I filed that information away for later analysis. So Nerion was trying to get Linden to date. Which meant Linden probably wasn’t the type to go out and hook up with random people. Which meant he was probably—
“Don’t,” I muttered to myself.
“Don’t what?” Linden asked.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Just... thinking out loud.”
We continued working, and I was grateful when Nerion called out something about needing better light and Teddy went over to help him adjust his easel, putting both of them as far from us as they could get inside the greenhouse.
It gave me a moment to breathe, to get my head on straight. But it didn’t last long.
“Your magic’s acting up again,” Linden observed quietly.
I looked up and saw a small cloud forming above us. Fuck. I’d been doing so well about keeping that under control. “It’s just the humidity,” I lied.
“Cass,” Linden said, and there was something in his tone that made me stop what I was doing and actually look at him. “It’s okay if you’re—”
“I’m not,” I interrupted, not even sure what he was about to say. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
“You have trouble controlling your magic, don’t you Sparks?” he asked innocently.
“No,” I snapped. “I don’t have trouble with anything. I can make it do whatever I want.”
“So you did the lightning on purpose?”
I just glared at the dirt, unable to stomach looking up at him. Because if he saw me, if our eyes met, he’d know I was lying. He probably knew anyway.
“What are you two love birds talking about?” Nerion called, butting in at exactly the wrong moment.
“Actually,” Linden replied, cutting me off before I could come up with a retort. “We’re going to take a quick field trip to the grove. There’s a few specimens I need to grab for Professor Paulson.” Linden placed his shovel aside. “We’ll be back in a couple hours. Have fun painting.”
“Ooh,” Nerion hummed back. “Have fun!”
Linden placed a large hand on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get out of here for a bit.”
I felt my stomach clench as Linden’s hand settled on my shoulder. His touch was warm even through my shirt, and I had to fight the urge to lean into it like some kind of needy asshole.
“The grove?” I asked, trying to sound casual even though my heart was suddenly pounding like I’d just called down a full-force hurricane. “What the hell is the grove?”
“My home,” Linden said simply, already guiding me toward the greenhouse exit. “Where the trees are. Where my power comes from. There’s some stuff there I need.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to make some excuse about being too tired or having other shit to do or my punishment not extending to off campus excursions.
But the truth was, I was slightly curious.
And moreover, I was desperate to get away from Nerion’s knowing smirk and stupid comments.
So I let Linden lead me out of the greenhouse and across the darkening campus.
“This better not be some weird dryad ritual thing,” I muttered as we walked. “Or you trying to kill me for burning down the greenhouse.”
“It’s not,” Linden replied, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. “Though I understand why you’d be concerned.” He gave me a sideways glance. “I would have good reason to be mad at you.”
Before I could stop myself, I asked, “But you’re not, are you?”
He just shook his head. “No. I’m not.”
“That’s fucking weird. Anyone else would be pissed.”
He just shrugged. “I guess I’m not like everyone else then.”